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Green Bay Packers: Goal-line stand all about strength and power

By Tom SilversteinMilwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted:
12/23/2012 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
12/23/2012 09:00:16 AM CST

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There are times a defense gets backed up so far in its own end of the field that the space left between the ball and the goal-line is barely wide enough to contain a breath of fresh air.

Maybe once or twice a game on average, the football field will be compressed to the point where all 11 players on one side are in a hand-shake's distance of the 11 on the other side, all in an effort to control that tiny bit of real estate.

During those times, it is best to remember that despite all the classroom preparation, film study and practice application, it comes down to doing whatever it takes to prevent a touchdown.

"So much is about technique in football," Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji said. "This is one of the few times you just have fun. It's just us against them. They're here and we have to stop them.

"You don't have to worry about technique, just come off the ball."

Yes, the goal-line stand is about strength and power. Often it's not about beauty.

The percentage of teams who stop their opponent from scoring a touchdown after a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line or in is just 20.9 percent. There are all kinds of things players are taught when they line up with their feet in the end zone, but sometimes you just do what linebacker A.J. Hawk did against the Chicago Bears last week.

On second and goal at the Packers' 1-yard line, the Bears lined up eight blockers across their front with quarterback Jay Cutler under center, fullback Evan Rodriguez offset to the right and running back Matt Forte in the I-formation.

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At the snap of the ball the line pulled to the right and Hawk, knowing they were coming at him, took a flying leap into the line, landing on top of the right shoulder of center Roberto Garza, who eventually crumbled under the weight and momentum of the 242-pound Hawk and fell right into the pathway of Forte.

"He was pulling and just how the play opened or for some reason, I tried to jump over him and figured I could make a pile or something," Hawk said. "I jumped and I was almost stuck on top of his shoulders.

"I don't think he was sure what to do, it liked stunned him because he was ready for me to come in low on him because sometimes you can chop them and try to make a pile. It was awkward. I was almost laughing in the middle of the play."

Hawk's Wallenda act was unconventional to say the least, but he was in the spot he was supposed to be and created enough of a speed bump that when Forte slowed to navigate through the traffic, linebacker Brad Jones came in and cleaned up for no gain.

The Bears ran the exact same play from the exact same formation on third down and this time, Hawk went low on Garza, knocked him back and allowed Jones to come flying in for another tackle short of the goal-line. On fourth down, the Bears tried to throw the ball but were called for offensive pass interference and wound up kicking a field goal.

It turned out to be a pretty crucial stop. Instead of cutting the Packers' lead to 21-14, the Bears managed only to cut it to 21-10 with 17 seconds left in the third quarter. The Packers went on to win, 21-13, and clinch the NFC North title.

Stops like that are fairly rare.

Of the 12 drives in which opponents have had a first down at the 5 or in, the Packers have allowed 10 touchdowns. Their touchdown efficiency mark of 83.3 (percent allowed) ranks tied for 19th in the NFL, according to STATS.

The Packers are better in all first-and-goal situations, keeping opponents out of the end zone 15 of 22 times (68.2 percent efficiency), which STATs says ranks 11th in the NFL. They have been harder to run on then pass on, allowing six touchdowns on the ground and nine in the air in first-and-goal situations.

"When we get in goal-line, nobody panics," Jones said. "Everybody is like, 'Hey, it's time to stop them.' Our mentality is that they're not getting it in. Just because they're close, they've still got to get by us."

The Packers' most notable stop in recent times was in the season opener against New Orleans when they stuffed running back Mark Ingram from 1-yard out on the final play of the game. They had another impressive one against the Saints this year, stopping them three times from inside the 3-yard line.

Besides the Bears and Saints, they have made goal-to-go stops against the New York Giants and Detroit Lions (twice). Their only stop in which no points were allowed was against the Giants.

All involved say that stopping a team on a goal-line run depends on the defensive line. If those players can get penetration, the play is probably dead. If they can get a stalemate, usually by knocking out the lineman's legs, it has a good chance of failing also.

"We want to knock their feet back," defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said. "Unless you have a "pigeon," -- a bad player over there -- in this league you're not really going to be able to (drive them backward). Some guys can.

"B.J. is really good at coming out of his hips fast and that's the key. It's how fast I can get out of my hips and into my strike."

Every Thursday, Trgovac runs his linemen through drills in which they get into a four-point stance and fire forward at a blocking sled in an attempt to simulate cutting out a lineman's feet. The term the defensive linemen use for that maneuver is "root-hogging."

"It's mostly about leverage, shooting off the ball," end C.J. Wilson said. "Shoot the legs out, what can you do?"

As easy as it might sound to cut out a blocker's legs, you must consider that the offensive linemen know what's coming and can counter with either getting low in their stance or executing a double-team block that even a 350-pound guy like Ryan Pickett might not stand up to.

On a goal-line play, the offensive linemen shorten their "splits" or the distance between each other, thus making it harder for a defensive lineman to shoot between them. When they double-team someone, it has to be a coordinated effort where they step in tandem and then hit the defender from each side at the same time.

"A lot of times it's 2-on-1," offensive line coach James Campen said. "If you're off fundamentally, it won't work. We're both supposed to get you. Our first job is to move you. If we don't both step (correctly), then you can split us.

"If you have two points pushing here and here, you have no advantage with the 650 pounds you're compressed with. He's now defeated."

The defensive linemen are not concerned with a pass play when the ball is at the 3-yard line or in. They are playing the run no matter what and if the quarterback runs play-action or a bootleg, so be it. That's what the linebackers and safeties are for.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers uses four defensive linemen, four linebackers and four safeties in a goal-line situation where there are no receivers in the game. He'll substitute a cornerback for one of the safeties if there is a receiver in the game.

The linebackers are the guys who have to make the stop if it's a run. Both outside linebackers Clay Matthews and Erik Walden will get in four-point stances like the linemen if there are multiple tight ends in the game.

Sometimes they will stand up if their job is to protect the edges and make sure the runner can't bounce outside.

Hawk and Jones are the ones expected to make the tackles on anything inside. Often times, the collisions are fierce.

"I tackled (Houston running back) Arian Foster on a play on the goal line and stopped him," Hawk said. "It didn't look like a big shot and a lot of times it looks like a good solid tackle, but it was one of the bigger shots I've given or taken.

" Just everything compresses. I felt it for a few days. That one stuck with me."

The safeties have one of the toughest assignments because they have to play both the pass and run. If it's a run, they have to either force the play in a certain direction or get on top of the pile as quickly as possible so it gets driven backward. If it's a pass, they have to read the fake handoff and get to their assignment quickly.

"Once you see a certain blocking scheme, you know what you have to do and you do it as fast as you can," said rookie safety Jerron McMillian.

Not a single player interviewed said that they've encountered cheap shots from other players. There is trash-talking, but it happens between plays. When the two teams line up, the only things to be heard are the signals being called out and the crowd.

When the ball is snapped pads pop and helmets collide and the officials are left to sort it all out.

"It's hard, real hard," Trgovac said of stopping a team at the goal-line. "God's got to be with you. Sometimes you play a play perfectly and they fall forward for it. You have a lot of bodies mashing in there. You don't want to be in that situation too much."